IIT-Kanpur to skip CET, own exam in 2013

IIT Kanpur's academic senate decided to conduct its own entrance exam in 2013, upping the ante against the HRD ministry by refusing to be part of the the common entrance test (CET) for all IITs, NITs and IIITs.

KANPUR/NEW DELHI: IIT Kanpur's academic senate decided on Friday to conduct its own entrance exam in 2013, upping the ante against the HRD ministry by refusing to be part of the the common entrance test (CET) for all IITs, NITs and IIITs.

The move - the first formal rejection of the ministry's decision to hold a common test - comes when the IIT alumni are planning to move court against CET and there are signs that other IITs too may follow the Kanpur example. If these institutions indeed hold separate exams, the burden on students will mount.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal could not be reached for comment.

Sources in his ministry said the IIT Kanpur resolution would have to be examined before a future move could be planned.

More than 60 faculty members at IIT Kanpu's Friday meeting unanimously backed the decision. S G Dhande, director and academic senate chairman, presided over the session.

"Students from across the country will be able to sit for the entrance exam in 2013. The CET proposal will be reconsidered for 2014. As of now, we'll conduct our own entrance exam for which a committee has been formed," said Prof Deepak Gupta, who was at the meeting.

'Other IITs thinking of own test too'

While the senate has the powers to control and regulate standards of instruction, education and examinations and can pass ordinances, the institute's board of governors can modify or cancel ordinances.

The faculty members decided to study the HRD ministry proposals, Gupta said, and take a call on whether to accept or discard them in 2014.

"The MHRD proposal has several lacunae. The IIT examination is one of great repute. We don't want to take a decision in haste," he said.

Gupta dismissed suggestions that the senate was in "conflict'' with the ministry. He said that other IITs, including Delhi, Kharagpur and Bombay, were also thinking of conducting their own entrance tests in 2013.